Saudi Arabia signs the Spanish scientist Fernando Maestre, one of the most cited in the world

One of the scientists most cited of the world, the ecologist Fernando Maestrewill leave Spain and will move in the next few days to King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, in Thuwal (Saudi Arabia), as he himself confirmed to EL PAÍS. Maestre, still a professor at the University of Alicante, is an international leader in the study of desertification and had just won European aid of 2.5 million euroswhich will have to be suspended or rejected.

Maestre, born 48 years ago in the Alicante town of Sax, appreciates the support received at his university, but points to the Spanish scientific system as one of the reasons for his departure. “I can't take any more with the bureaucracy, the day-to-day difficulties, the lack of stable personnel, the need to continually request financing projects and the absurd paperwork,” he criticizes. The researcher has requested a five-year leave of absence from the University of Alicante to move with his family to the Arabian Peninsula.

Saudi Arabia founded the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in the middle of the desert in 2009, with an initial fund of about 20,000 million euros. Its resources are immense. Maestre does not detail his salary, “very competitive”, but estimates that he will have about 15 times more money for research than with his usual Spanish financing. The ecologist had a team of up to 20 people in Alicante, but he was the only one with a stable contract. Maestre explains that a young researcher, with a recently completed doctorate, can earn about 1,500 euros in Spain, but in Saudi Arabia he will receive about 5,000 euros tax-free each month, plus a plane ticket per year and a free house on campus. Four people from his team in Alicante will go with Maestre to Thuwal.

“I am a desert ecologist. Going to study the real desert, the hyper-arid areas, is a unique opportunity. I am aware that many people will not understand it, but, deep down, it is like time travel. Using a somewhat crude simile, I am going to see what Spain could be like in 50 years. “In Saudi Arabia they are already facing challenges very similar to those that we will have to face,” reflects Maestre, who won in 2022. the National Research Awardgranted by the Ministry of Science.

The Saudi university – usually known by its acronym in English, KAUST – has recruited renowned scientists from around the world. Among the Spaniards, the chemist stands out Jorge Gascon, who directs the institution's Catalysis Center; the electronic engineer Mario Lanza, microchip expert; and industrial technical engineering Erica Alvarez, who works in a nanomaterials laboratory. The KAUST campus was the first in Saudi Arabia where women and men lived together, despite the resistance of the most fanatical sectors. The facility is an oasis in a country with serious violations of human rights. Everything is on campus: the teachers' houses, the shops, the sports areas, the English-language schools for the children and even its own beach. Women can wear short sleeves.

Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman, chairman of the board of directors of KAUST, presented five months ago the new strategy of the university, with the priority of “transforming research into innovations with economic benefit.” The prince, accused by the United States of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, proclaimed that “the goal is to turn the university into a beacon of knowledge and a source of inspiration and innovation […] to improve the Kingdom and the world.”

Oceanographer Carlos Duarte, also winner of the National Research Award in Spain, was one of the first to accept the offer from the Saudi university. This Monday, Duarte celebrated the anniversary of his arrival in the Arabian Peninsula, sharing on his social networks a portrait in traditional attire, rifle in hand. “The land of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has immersed me in its generosity and beauty, so, at the dawn of my tenth year here, I decide to immerse myself in its name. “I am glad you call me Khaled Al-Andalusi,” Duarte posted.

They have created a university from nothing, but in the image and likeness of the best

Fernando Maestre, ecologist

The Saudi dictatorship has set the goal of at least five of its universities being among the top 200 in the world in the rankings in the year 2030. One of the ways to advance is to have researchers from the prestigious List of Highly Cited Scientists, prepared every year by the multinational Clarivate. Some Arab institutions have used a shady trick: paying up to 70,000 euros annually to foreign scientists on this list to lie in the database and falsely declare that their main place of work is a Saudi university. One in 10 highly cited Spanish experts – 11 out of a total of 112 – agreed to do this trick for money, as EL PAÍS revealed in April.

Fernando Maestre was one of the researchers who refused to participate in this deception and I report publicly. The Saudi universities that benefited from this farce were King Abdulaziz, King Saud and Taif. KAUST's strategy is different: make real signings of top scientists, offering them abundant resources, cutting-edge laboratories and salaries unimaginable in other countries.

Maestre has already visited KAUST a couple of times in recent months. “They have created a university from nothing, but in the image and likeness of the best. They have world-class teaching staff. The research they are doing there is impressive. They have put the best people to work, with resources and without all the bureaucratic problems that we have here on a daily basis. It is a system made so that people give their best, with freedom to investigate,” she says.

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